NOTE: The semifinals and finals of the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship on Oct. 8-10 are scheduled to be shown live from Rome on Universal Sports.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 26, 2010) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team swept Venezuela on Sunday, 25-19, 25-23, 25-19, and assured itself a spot in the second round of the 2010 FIVB World Championship in Reggio Calabria, Italy.

The U.S. Men improved to 2-0 in Pool D and will play Argentina (2-0) at noon PT on Monday to determine the pool winner. Argentina defeated Mexico in Sunday’s other Pool D match, 3-1 (25-12, 25-19, 17-25, 25-15). Venezuela (0-2) will play Mexico (0-2) on Saturday to determine which team will advance as the pool’s third-place team and which will go home.

“Today we have played better than yesterday,” U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) said in an FIVB press release. “The game was more intense. We need to further improve our performance. Raise our quality level and find the right balance.

“I think tomorrow it will be important to be aggressive from the start and make a good percentage of points in the attack. Argentina plays very fast and we are looking forward to meeting them for the top of the pool.”

Opposite Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the U.S. Men for a second straight day and led all scorers with 16 points (0.67 hitting percentage) on a match-high 11 kills and a match-high five aces. Outside hitter Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) also had a strong match with 10 points on nine kills (0.57 hitting percentage) and one block.

Outside hitter Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.), playing in his first 2010 World Championship match after being left off the roster on Saturday, finished with nine points on nine kills (0.16 hitting percentage). Priddy was also credited with 10 excellent receptions and no errors on 15 attempts.

“We aim to find the right rhythm in the match to try to seek more points, especially with the service,” Priddy said. “We will analyze the mistakes made during the match today and correct them. Argentina has a very strong team of young players and they have excellent tactics.”

As a team, the U.S. Men had a hitting percentage of 0.42 (41 kills and 10 errors on 74 attempts). Venezuela’s hitting percentage was 0.31 (37 kills and 14 errors on 75 attempts). Team USA out-blocked the South Americans 4-2 and had six aces while Venezuela had two.

Ivan Marquez and Luis Arias each had 10 points for Venezuela.

Among other U.S. players, middle blocker Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished with seven points on seven attacks (0.33 hitting percentage). David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) had six points on four kills (0.5 hitting percentage) and two blocks. Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.) had two points on one kill and one block and middle blocker Russell Holmes (Fountain Valley, Calif.) scored one point with an ace.

Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was credited with 11 excellent receptions and one fault on 15 attempts. Rooney was credited with 11 excellent receptions and one fault on 20 attempts.

Hansen was credited with 19 running sets and no faults on 60 attempts. A running set is defined as a set from a player that puts their hitter against one blocker or none.

U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) started Rooney and Priddy at outside hitter, Lee and Holt at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite, Hansen at setter and Lambourne at libero. Outside hitter Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.) and setter Jonathan Winder (Irvine, Calif.) played as substitutes.

Rooney helped the U.S. Men to an 8-6 lead at the first technical timeout with three successful attacks. Holt and Stanley also scored on kills and Lee scored with a block. Venezuela scored three of its six points on two U.S. serving errors and one hitting error. The United States maintained a two-point lead at 11-9 when it scored three straight points on a Priddy kill, Stanley ace and Venezuela error to increase the lead to 14-9. The teams traded points and the U.S. Men held a 16-11 lead at the second TTO, extending it to 17-11 on a Priddy quick kill after the break. With the U.S. leading 20-14, Venezuela scored twice on a kill and an ace to pull to within four at 20-16. But a Stanley kill stopped the rally and the U.S. reached set point first at 24-18 on a Holt attack. Venezuela scored one more time on a kill, but the set ended with Venezuela’s service error.

The U.S. Men jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set, including kill from Priddy and Stanley and a Rooney block, along with three Venezuela errors. At the first TTO the U.S. lead was 8-5. The teams traded points until the U.S. lead was 10-7. Venezuela scored four straight points on two kills by Arias, a block from Marquez and a U.S. hitting error to take an 11-10 lead. The teams traded points again until the score was tied 13-13. The U.S. Men scored three straight points on a Rooney quick kill and two straight Stanley aces to lead 16-13 at the second TTO. With the U.S. leading 17-14, Arias scored with a kill and Venezuela tied the score on two straight U.S. hitting errors. Knipe called timeout and successfully iced Venezuela’s server who had an error. But Venezuela scored three more straight points on two kills by Arias and a U.S. hitting error to take a 20-18 lead and give the crowd something to cheer about. But the lead was short lived as the U.S. tied the score on a Venezuela hitting error and Lee’s block. As the teams traded points, Lee scored with two more kills, but Venezuela took a 23-22 lead on a quick attack by Thomas Ereu. Priddy tied the score with a kill from the back row and Stanley ended the set with a kill and an ace.

Kills from Lee, Priddy and Rooney (two) helped the U.S. Men to a 4-1 lead in the third set. Two quick kills by Holt helped them to a 7-4 lead before Venezuela scored twice on a kill and an ace. But Venezuela’s hitting error helped the U.S. Men to an 8-6 lead at the first TTO. The teams traded points until the U.S. lead was 9-8. The U.S. scored twice on a quick attack from Rooney and a Holmes ace. Venezuela responded with a kill, but then committed two straight hitting errors, followed by a Stanley ace that put Team USA ahead 14-9. Marquez got a kill in before the United States scored twice more on attacks by Stanley and Rooney to lead 16-10 at the second TTO. Venezuela never made another major run and the U.S. reached match point at 24-18 on Venezuela’s serving error. Venezuela scored once more on Carlos Tejeda’s kill before Stanley ended the match with an attack.